Pencil pointer



March 28, 1939. HWE 2,152,395

PENCIL POINTER Filed Feb. 24, 1936 I my,

BY @w,

ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 28, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to pencil pointers and has particular relation topencil pointers in which the pointing or sharpening mechanism isactuated by power means rather than by manual operation.

Devices of this character made according to the prior art and with whichI am familiar have had certain defects. In the first place most of thepencil sharpeners or pointers are operated by hand with severalconsequent difficulties. In the hand operation of the sharpener thecutter is operated unevenly and at varying speeds. In such cases it isdifficult to obtain a properly pointed pencil. In addition the strainimposed on the graphite of the pencil by this uneven operation of thecutter results very often in the breaking of the graphite. Anotherdisadvantage is that the pencil may only be pointed in one manner; thatis, with a conical point. When another type of point is desired such asa fiat sided or wedge point, often preferred by draftsmen, it isnecessary to set such a point by hand. Power-operated sharpeners havehad many of the defects of the hand operated sharpeners. In additionthey were intricate, expensive and more or less bulky. The latter objectmaking it difficult to move the sharpener around and resulting in thenecessity of locating the sharpener permanently.

It is accordingly an object of my invention to provide a simple andcomparatively inexpensive power operated pencil pointer of compact andpleasing appearance.

Another object of my invention is to provide a power operated pencilpointer of compact design and light construction so that it may beeasily moved about when desired.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pencil pointer whichmay be used to point pencils in various ways depending on the wishes ofthe user.

According to my invention I provide a pencil pointer in which thesharpening or cutter mechanism is actuated by a small electric motor.The apparatus is compact and the working parts are closely associatedand simple in structure. The device, by reason of its structure, may beeasily moved around and it may be used to point pencils in the mannerdesired by the user.

The novel features which I consider characteristic of my invention areset forth with particularity in the appended claims. The inventionitself, however, both as to its organization and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbest be understood from the following description of a specificembodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a pencil pointer constructed inaccordance with the principles of my invention.

Figure 2 is a view in perspective showing, in exploded relation, thevarious parts of a pencil pointer constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

Referring now to the drawing, the device shown in Figures 1 and 2comprises a supporting base Hi, a housing i I, having a face plate I2,including a pencil holder or guide 13, a motor or actuating mechanism M,a base plate l6, and a resilient mounting pad ll.

The base plate Ill is formed of a suitable material to provide a motorsupport l8 at one portion thereof having a convex surface, as indicatedat E9, to conform with the general outline of the small electric motorM. The other portion 2! of the base [0 serves as a support for thehousing H and has an opening therethrough to coincide with an opening inthe bottom of housing I i the purpose of which will be hereinafterexplained. The base II] is of hollow construction and the portion l8supplying the support for the motor is drilled at various points such asindicated at 22 and 23 to provide outlets for a switch 24 and conductor26 of the motor l4.

The portion 2! of the base extending beneath the housing II is sodesigned that a small drawer 21 may be inserted therein. The drawer 2?serves as a receptacle for retaining shavings and refuse resulting fromusing the pencil pointer. Obviously it may be withdrawn and the contentsdiscarded when it becomes filled.

The base plate [6 serves as a retainer for the drawer and as a base formounting the resilient pad ll. The plate !6 is secured to the base It inany suitable manner and the resilient pad I? is secured to the plate l8by means of cement or some suitable binding agent.

The housing ll serves to enclose the sharpening device or cutting tool28. The cutting tool is of the form of a frustum of a cone with thecutting surface finished in the conventional manner of a file and thelike. The tool 28 is suitably secured to the armature shaft 29 of themotor I4 so that it rotates with the shaft 29 when the motor isenergized.

The rear wall of the housing H has an opening (not shown) therethroughto enable the cutting tool 28 to be extended into the housing. The motorI4 is engaged to the rear face by suitable means to hold the cuttingtool in fixed position within the housing. The front wall of the housingH has a boss 3| on the face thereof. A circular aperture 32 extendstherethrough to permit extending the pencil holder l3 or guide withinthe housing as hereinafter explained.

The circular cap or face plate I2 is adapted to be secured to the boss3| by any suitable means such as stud bolts. The cap is drilled at oneportion thereof and the holder or guide I3 is extended therethrough andis securely engaged thereto. The guide l3 consists of a hollowcylindrical member with the portion extending within the housing havingone surface of the cylinder cut away as indicated at 33.

Of course it is obvious that with the parts in assembled relation theholder I3 and the cutting tool 28 are in proper spaced relation toprovide the correct cutting action on a pencil inserted in the device tobe sharpened.

The housing H has an opening (not shown) extending through the lowersurface adjacent the base and corresponding with an opening in the baseabove the drawer 21. Shavings and refuse resulting from pointing apencil in the device drop through these adjacent openings into thedrawer 21 from which they may be discarded.

The pad of resilient material, indicated at 11, serves several purposes.It furnishes a cushioning means so that the device will not mar anyfinished surface when placed thereon. It serves as a dampener forvibrations and noise resulting from the motor when it is energized andalso acts to prevent the pencil pointer from shifting about too easily.

The operation of the above described device may be set forth as follows.The motor is energized and a pencil is inserted in the guide or holderl3. If a conical point is desired, the pencil is advanced inwardly androtated between the fingers. The cutting tool 28, revolving at highspeed, contacts the pencil and removes enough material to provide thedesired result. If a wedge point is desired, the pencil is heldstationary between the fingers and advanced inwardly to the cutter toflatten one side. It is then withdrawn, turned through 180 and theoperation repeated. This proceedure will result in a point of the typedesired.

It is evident that a pencil pointer constructed in accordance with theprinciples of my invention has several attendant advantages. It is ofsimple and inexpensive construction and of compact and pleasingappearance. It does away with the trouble encountered in a hand operatedmachine such as improper pointing and breaking of the graphite. Inaddition, my device makes possible the pointing of pencils in variousways to suit the desire of the individual who uses it.

Although I have shown and described a certain specific embodiment of myinvention, I am fully aware that many modifications thereof arepossible. My invention is therefore not to be restricted except insofaras is necessitated by the prior art and by the spirit of the appendedclaims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a pencil pointer, a base, a housing mounted on the base, a cutterdrive means mounted on the base and secured to the housing on one facethereof, cutting means adapted to be actuated by the cutter drive meansand extending within the housing, a cap engaged on the other face of thehousing, a pencil holding and guide means secured to the cap andextending therethrough and within the housing in fixed spacedrelationship with respect to the cutting means whereby a pencil placedin the holder and moved into the housing will contact the cutting meansand have the end formed into a desired point.

2. In a pencil pointer, a base cupped on the upper face thereof, aroughly semi-cylindrical housing extending upwardly from one portion ofthe base, a cutter drive means received in the cupped face of the baseand arranged with the cutter projecting into the housing, a cap mountedon the side of the housing opposite to the cutter driving means, andguide means eccentric to the central axis of the cap projecting throughthe cap and into juxtaposition to the cutter.

CLIFFORD G. WHITE.

